AS far as first seasons after stepping up from amateur to professional level go, Matty Holmes could hardly have asked for a much better one.

The former Walney Central back row is among the promising players Barrow Raiders head coach Paul Crarey has plucked from the amateur ranks and his first year at Craven Park saw him make six starts, plus a further five interchange appearances.

Holmes, along with fellow Walney product Danny Morrow, will be staying with for the 2017 Kingstone Press League One campaign after taking up the option of a second year on his contract.

And while he admits the physical rigours of the professional game and the extra demands of being in the defensive line took some getting used to, the 22-year-old is more than satisfied overall with his progress when reflecting on his first year at this level.

“I got a lot more game-time than I was possibly expecting,” said Holmes. “I started quite well and then didn't get many games during the middle of the season, but we picked up a few injuries and I got some more, and came on at the end of the year.

“I've improved in various areas of the game and it just a great season to get in, really. Towards the end, when we started having a good run in the Super Eights, it was a good feeling, but it was a massive learning curve about the game and everything else.

“Travelling away, training that many times a week, being in the gym all the time, it was just a great experience for my first year.”

Playing in a team which is winning regularly and competing at the top end of the table helped ease the transition for Holmes, while travelling long distances to some away games in League One served as another eye-opener for him.

The trip to Toulouse Olympique for the final game of the Super Eights – Holmes missed out on the play-off final in France – was one which proved a particularly good experience, offering the chance to mix with some of the top players in Europe from the 15-man code as well.

“You become much closer as a team when you are away at places like that and just being in that environment for a full weekend was pretty good and you see all these other professional players,” said Holmes.

“The first time we went to Toulouse, Toulon (rugby union team) were there as well, so that was really good.

“Being in a winning side for that many weeks was a good feeling. It was a great feeling within the team and in training, and just everything about it.

“It helps you develop rather than being in a bottom-end side. You're playing with some class players here, so they're always going to make you become a better player playing with those type of players.”

On a personal level, Holmes' main aim remains just to get as much game time as he can during the 2017 season, along with continuing to improve as a player.

But as far as the team are concerned there is only one target – and that is making sure they obtain one of the two places for promotion to the Championship.

“We were so close this year and halfway through the year when we were down in fifth, we knew we could do better than that,” said Holmes.

“We picked up in that second half of the year to finishing strongly and just miss out. But that has got to be the aim for next year, to get that promotion spot and go up.

“The biggest thing for me is just to play as many games as I can. It's still a big learning curve next year, as Cresta (Crarey) said, so I'm just looking forward to doing that, really.

“I'm just going to keep going, doing what I'm doing in the gym training-wise and I just want to get into the squad as much as I can.”